Fizzled out

What was expected to be a bruising battle between Government and the Opposition Barbados Labour Party (BLP) in Parliament yesterday over the no-confidence motion against Minister of Finance Chris Sinckler, was reduced to no more than a sparring spectacle.
Only three of the Opposition members spoke, including leader Mia Mottley, who brought the resolution, while Sinckler defended himself against the accusations, as no other member of the Government side said a word.
For nearly three hours the Opposition elaborated on the 22 charges contained in Mottley’s motion, which sought to show that Sinckler had been a consistent failure as Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs, and why he should be fired by Prime Minister Freundel Stuart.
Perhaps his greatest failure, said Mottley, was Sinckler’s admission in the August 13 Budget of a decline of $300 million in foreign reserves in three months.
It was, she added, “an indicator that we were dealing with a minister of finance who did not understand his role and responsibility to this country to maintain the stability and confidence necessary . . . . That is the equivalent of a man standing in the dock and saying guilty as charged”.
After it became clear that no one from the Government benches was going to respond to the charges being made, Mottley chose to shut it down. (SP)